It started last Saturday, and I finally went to see a doctor on Tuesday. My school was able to combine the two classes we have at 2pm into one class, and my co-teacher taught our students while my manager drove me to a doctor's office. 의사 (oui sa) is the word for doctor.
Aside from my initial physical when I went to an actual hospital in order to get my alien card, this is the first time I've been to a doctor in my six months of being in Korea. I've heard about others' experiences, but now I can say that every word is true: there are certain notable differences from seeing a doctor in the states.
First, I did not have an appointment, nor did I need an appointment. Or a referral. We arrived at the doctor's office at 2pm. My manager told the receptionist that I needed to see the doctor because I was sick. I gave the receptionist my health insurance booklet, she wrote down my information, and then she handed it back to me. We sat down. About 20 seconds later, I went in to see the doctor.
The office was not bright, as the windows had curtains and the walls were covered in wood laminate. I felt like I had walked into the 1970s. The office itself was decorated in many old doctor-type things, such as models of human hearts, trial medicine boxes, tissues, etc. The doctor sat at his desk in front of a new computer that was hidden by all sorts of old-looking papers, and I took a seat on the couch. He took my blood pressure, while telling me over and over something I don't wish to repeat to the public, and then took my temperature by sticking the thermometer under my arm. Okay, could be worse. At least I was able to watch a Korean opera performance on the tv he had beside his desk.
Turns out I had a high temperature of 37.9C, which is 100.2F. That's not high to me, but it was a fever. At least I felt that having to combine our classes at school and miss the first hour was worth it for everyone. I say this because I usually don't go to the doctor for such minor things. Instead, I just stay home until I'm feeling better. But there are no sick days in Korea. I am technically allotted three sick days in my contract, but there are only two teacher at my school and we are both working every hour the entire day, so we have no backup if we actually need to take one of our sick days. And if we were Korean, we would not be able to have a sick day - they are only given to us because we are foreign and most of us expect that. I never take sick days in the states, but had I been in the states this past week, I was sick enough that I would have taken two days in a row, no guilt. That might give you an idea of how bad I felt.
When the doctor visit was over, about five minutes total, I went back out to see the receptionist and she gave me my total: W3,700. About $3.50. Because I had a fever, the doctor wanted to see me again the following day. No need to schedule an appointment, just show up sometime before work.
I also received a prescription for medication. I took the paper and went next door to the pharmacy where I had my prescription filled. I received one day's worth of medication that I was supposed to take 3 times a day. This cost me W2,700. About $2.50. That wasn't bad considering there were five tablets I had to take at one time.
Feverish and medicated, we drove back to school and I taught the remainder of the day. I was dreading the worst, but the kids seemed to know that I wasn't feeling well, so most of them were on their best behavior. The one's who weren't on their best behavior got away with whatever it was they were doing because my voice was so raw I could barely speak. Kin channa. (That's ok.)
So the following day before work, I went back to the doctor and was told that my fever was still high. I asked him what the number was, and he said 37. His English was pretty good, but maybe his eyes were bad, because 37C is 98.6F - normal body temperature. Not wanting to argue because one, he's the doctor, and two, my Korean skills are lacking significantly, I just said okay and he prescribed me another 2 days of medication. My second doctor visit cost me only W2,700, and my following two days of the same medication as before cost me only W1,400. I'm not sure why the price dropped the second day, but again, kin channa.
Here is a picture of what I received at the pharmacy. It's nice that they make it so simple for you. Each dose is sealed in a nice little pouch, and because I needed to take my medication three times a day, there were three pouches connected together. I love the simplicity of it all.
Just don't ask me what it was I was taking because I have absolutely no idea.
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